Asian markets surge, tech stocks lead powerful rally

Asian equities moved higher on Thursday, with technology shares driving the advance after Wall Street recovered overnight. South Korea posted the strongest gains, as the semiconductor-heavy Kospi jumped 6.19 per cent and the Kosdaq added 2.16 per cent, according to CNBC. Chip giants led the move, with SK Hynix up close to 12 per cent and Samsung Electronics gaining 8.48 per cent.

In Japan, technology names also firmed, with SoftBank Group up 4.04 per cent, Nintendo rising more than 3 per cent, Rakuten advancing 2.44 per cent and memory maker Kioxia adding 5.29 per cent. The Nikkei 225 rose 0.89 per cent, while the broader Topix edged 0.78 per cent higher. Elsewhere in the region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.13 per cent, China's CSI 300 added 0.21 per cent and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 inched up 0.23 per cent.

The overnight rally came after the S&P 500 snapped a three-day losing run as bond yields with longer maturities fell. The US Treasury Department said it would more than double repurchases of 10-, 20- and 30-year debt in the coming months, easing strain from a selloff that had pushed the 30-year yield to a nearly two-decade peak earlier this week. U.S. futures edged higher early Thursday, and attention now shifts to weekly jobless claims, while Walmart is due to report fiscal second-quarter results before the market opens.